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Farmington mayor Larson shares state of the city

Mayor Todd Larson spoke to a crowd of about 20 at last week's State of the City address.

Asked what he thought what the city of Farmington's greatest asset was, the answer came easily and quickly from mayor Todd Larson.

"I think the character of the city itself is Farmington's greatest asset," he said.

His statement came in response to a question posed during the May 10 state of the city address. The annual address was held at Farmington City Hall.

About 20 people attended the address. In the short but fact-filled address, Larson recapped many of the issues city officials faced over the past year and briefly talked about the issues now before council.

In his address, Larson talked about last year's budget process, then shared the plan for the future. Instead of working on a year-to-year budget, council members and city staff are working to get onto a two-year budget cycle. They'll also start the budget process earlier in the year. This year's budget process will include a review of the city's capital improvement plan.

One of the council's goals in the next year, he said, is to increase commercial and industrial development in the city of Farmington. Larson talked about the economic development authority's new organizational plan, which includes increased marketing, business retention and expansion, and business recruitment efforts.

Larson said city officials also plan to focus on teamwork with other groups in the community, including School District 192, Dakota County, the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Farmington Business Association.

He touched briefly on the Farmington liquor store operations, parks and recreation programs and a new fire truck purchase.

The address concluded with a recap of Farmington's election information. A primary election will be held Aug. 14, followed by the general election Nov. 6. This year, there are three council positions open -- the mayor's seat, plus two city council seats. Larson also included information on Farmington's new polling places.

At less than 20 minutes, the state of the city address -- with questions to Larson at the end - covered many topics in a short amount of time. A video of the state of the city address has already been posted on the city's website, www.ci.farmington.mn.us. It will also be shown on the city's cable channel, though the air dates have not yet been announced.

Michelle Leonard joined the Woodbury Bulletin staff in November, 2014, after 14 years covering news for the Bulletin's sister publication, the Farmington Rosemount Independent Town Pages. Michelle earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications: News-Editorial from Mankato State University in 1991. She is an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary Clifford Larson Unit 189 of Farmington, and served as the 2014-15 Third District President to the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Minnesota. Michelle is also the volunteer coordinator for the Minnesota Newspaper Museum which is open annually during the Minnesota State Fair. She has earned Minnesota Newspaper Association awards in Investigative Reporting, Local News Coverage, Feature Photography and Column Writing.